I'm Chris and I am addicted to yard sales, garage sales, thrift stores and bargain hunting in general. Visit my site yardsalequeen.com - which I started in 1996.
"Smile" and "VV" (Vintage Value) are the names of two thrift stores I regularly shop at.
I grew up in Clifton Park NY but now live in Lusby, MD. I also lived in other exciting locales such as Schenectady, Watervliet (NY), and Charleston, SC.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Here's more of my buys from Saturday (and that's not even everything since some things didn't make it into the picture - like a box full of +30 vintage souvenir glasses (some Hazel Atlas) for $10. And a vintage 1942 Baby Brownie camera for $2.

My favorite buy was the Funride Deluxe for $5 - the box is banged up but it has never been used. I actually wanted to buy one for Jacob - since it would be good for upper body strength (he sees an occupational therapist at school for his "low tone"). On ebay they sell for about $75, but websites like this Fun Ride Deluxe they sell them for around $89.

I think next summer I am going to sign Jacob up for a summer day camp. He is wearing me out - everyday he wants to go somewhere. And it's not thrift stores he wants to go to. We usually end up at the local museum (where we are members of so we don't have to pay admission). We did go out on one of their boat rides the other day and it spoiled us, we were the only passengers! They usually do a 2 o'clock boat ride, and then if that fills up to capacity (45 passengers), they'll add a 3:10 boat ride - regardless of how many passengers they have. Well the other day, their 2pm boat was full, so they announced a 3:10 boat ride. Jacob and I signed up and paid $11 for both and we had the boat to ourselves.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Here's a pic of two of my recent acquisitions from Saturday. In the top pic, the lamp was $3. And the glider was FREE. I want to replace the lamp in our living room - a lamp from my husband's bachelor's days since the glamorous goldtone on it isn't as shiny as it was back in 1988. Will keep the shade tho on the old and put it on the "new".

The child sized glider rocker was a freebie at a yardsale. The seller saw me looking at it and said I could have it for free since it needed work. The original chair pads were N-A-S-T-Y. I even stopped at the landfill to throw them away before I took the chair home since I didn't want them coming inside the house. I ripped out the material which was covering the metal supports - which I had to hammer back into place. Then just heavy duty stapled a piece of material I had laying around (actually it was an old dishtowel but I thought if I called it a "piece of material" here it would sound nicer..haha). The purpose of the material is mainly just to keep kids from sticking their hands underneath - since the metal support rods are the main support for the seat.

Then, since I am not about to start sewing cushions, I just threw on some extra couch pillows on it, so Jacob can use it. Will keep my eyes peeled for "like new" replacement child sized glider cushions at a yardsale. They gotta be out there in yardsaleland, right? Until then, Jacob is content sitting on it with the couch pillows.

I forgot to mention this til now. My recent college graduate smarty pants niece got an awesome job at this little place called the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. So during the big move, my sister (who was helping with the move) stumbled upon a local magazine with a silly garage sale article in it. Just what I need, my older sister having new fuel to tease me. Here's the article: Rochester Magazine Article. I responded to the editor pleading with him to publish a correction; I am no where near mid-50s (and that if you squint your eyes a little and stand 100 yards away, I could be mistaken for a woman in her late 30's, or even mid-30's.) Anyhow he responded saying that when he said "almost all", that he of course, did not mean me who is obviously much younger. Phew. I also told him that I am not Machiavelli's grandmother, but more like his cute younger sister.

It really was a fluke that my sister came across the article. Makes me wonder how often the site gets mentioned but I never hear of it. Any publicity is good publicity.

I just heard back from the English teacher in Japan - he wrote a book about everyday English, in order to teach Japanese students how regular Americans talk. And portions of this blog are appearing in the book. I hope he uses a part where I say "anyways". Someone wrote to tell me that anyways isn't a real word. Anyhows, he said the book has finally been published and is in the mail to me.

Monday, July 23, 2007

I told myself when I joined as a member of the Baltimore Aquarium, I would take Jacob there by myself periodically. It's been a while since I've driven to the Inner Harbor but made it there and back without any big problems (hate all those one way streets downtown). The food cafes at the Aquarium are definitely overpriced. I saw that at one cafe they sold popcorn at $2 a box (which I thought actually wasn't that bad) and I mentioned to Jacob if he wanted some popcorn. At the time he didn't want any but later when we were near the other cafe, he mentioned it. Acckk...at that cafe all they had was the teeny tiny bags of Smartfood popcorn at $1.50 a bag. A bottle of Diet Pepsi was $2.50, but then I saw some vendors outside so I figured once we leave, we'll get a soda from a vendor and walk around the Inner Harbor some before we left. (I am so addicted to diet pepsi that I had some in a cooler back in the car at the parking garage but wasn't about to go get it). I was surprised that the vendor ALSO had $2.50 for a bottle of Diet Pepsi - but then I saw her shirt, she worked for the Aquarium. Bought it anyway.

Forgot to mention what I bought at the yardsales last Saturday, here's a few pics. Lots of DVDs for $1 each and my favorite buy was the vintage Saltines tin for a quarter. The shirts I got for Jacob were a quarter a piece. There was a small spot on the pink shirt I wanted to see if it would come out before taking the pic (that's why it looks wet). The seller said her son never wore it.

A few days ago, a JC Penney ad came in the mail that had a $10 coupon in it. Not one of those $10 off $50 purchase, it was a $10 off $10 coupon. I found a pair of brown shorts for Jacob that were marked down to $12.99 - so I figured they would be $2.99 plus tax. But they rang up for less so since the coupon stated that you must spend a minimum of $10, I had to run back to the racks to find something to add to the shorts. I saw some t-shirts marked down to $2.97 so I grabbed one of those. As it turned out, THAT was on sale too. To see what the total was after coupon, look below.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Remember in early June I mentioned how someone littered in my yard - a lunchables box that inside was a winning gamepiece for walkie talkies? Well I sent away the gamepiece and they came the other day. Not too shabby! They have a longer range than another set we have.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Ok, I finally got my pics semi-organized from our trip to Arkansas. Above is my favorite pic that I took of the scenery. Unfortunately that spot was probably an hour drive away. Where we stayed the roads all looked like this:

The reason for the trip to Arkansas, was to visit my Father-in-law who now lives in Horseshoe Bend. Lots of retirees there. It was kind of like a throwback in time, no pay at the pump gas, no credit card payments right at the cash register at the one grocery store in town (the cashier would have to walk it to the store's office to swipe the card). No liquor stores (it was a dry county). Nearest McDonald's was about 20 miles away inside a SuperWalmart. There was a nice golf course in town so my FIL and husband got lots of golfing in.

The first day of our vacation we drove to Knoxville and stayed at a nice Holiday Inn near the highway. There was a flea market down the road so I was able to shop there a little the next day. From the man wearing the mankini top, I bought this super tacky religious dangling decorative CD to put on a rear view mirror. I overpaid $2 for it, I figure it will be good for a laugh when I give it to my mom for Christmas.

We then drove to Nashville and stayed overnight at my cousin's gorgeous house in Brentwood. I also drove by my aunt and uncle's old house in Nashville just to see it from the outside - when I was a teen I spent a few summers in Nashville and even worked one summer at Opryland.

Then we drove onto Horseshoe Bend, AR. The town is in the middle of nowhere. As fortune would have it, there was a place in town that had free Wifi. Thank God! We had our laptop with us so I was able to log in to check email etc.

Because there are no real hotels in the area, we ended up renting a house on a lake. The house turned out to be pretty nice, considering I didn't know what to expect. One day I went to a town about 40 miles away - Hardy, AR. An old quaint town full of antique stores. I didn't buy much stuff there, but I did find two thrifts on the way there. I bought a Saladmaster food grinder for $5. I know Saladmaster is a name to look for at thrifts so I thought I would take a chance. It will go up on ebay eventually. There weren't many yardsales going on but I did make it to two. Bought a tablecloth with zodiac symbols on it for $1 and some old Flicker razors for .30 each. I haven't seen a Flicker razor in a long time so I figure I'd buy them for "investment purposes" - haha.

One day we drove to Mountain View, Arkansas. Which I guess is known for hillbilly music, all kinds of hoedowns and jamborees advertised in the area. That's where I bought my Nose Flute or as the cashier said a "Snoot Floot". I am kicking myself that I only bought one.

In Mountain View, we got a bargain .25 car wash. Then we drove back thru a pretty small town called Calico Rock (where I took the pic at the top of this blog). We stopped at a combination shoe store and lunch counter. Bought some food but no shoes.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Yes, we went to Arkansas (on purpose) for vacation. Just got back last night so that is why I haven't blogged lately. I still haven't gotten my pics organized so when I do, I will write about the trip and some shopping I did while there. (My computer is not liking one of my memory sticks with a ton of pics on it, so I need to get that fixed).

Friday, July 06, 2007

My BJ's membership expired on 6/30. A little while ago there was a coupon for a free 60 day membership for new members. The coupon expired 7/7. So on the 4th of July I went to BJ's and stood behind a woman renewing her membership. I could tell she was renewing since she was already holding a membership card and the employee told her it would be $45 (the regular price of a yearly membership). Her membership probably expired on 6/30 too.

Well after she finished, it was my turn and I just handed over the coupon and said I wanted the free 60 day membership and showed my driver's license - which she keyed into the computer. She took my pic and handed me my new card (oh I need to scan it, it's ridiculous). She then mentioned they were running a special - get a 15 month membership for only $35. So I said I would think about it.

Meanwhile, don't forget, the customer ahead of me renewed for $45 for 12 months. Crazy, that's why it doesn't pay to renew. Wait for things to expire and then companies will try to win you back (well most times anyway).

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

No big plans for today. Maybe do a little traditional shopping at Staples and Target. Jacob is afraid of fireworks but I think our neighborhood is going to get a better view of them this year due to the positioning in the Bay of the fireworks barge.

I took the above pic over Easter vacation when I visited my mom. I meant to post it on Flag Day but I forgot.

Yardsalequeen.com

I have a wide variety of interests: going to yard sales, garage sales, thrift stores, estate sales and rummage sales. After I had my son Jacob in 2000, I quit my job at a nuclear power plant after almost 10 years. Now I just sit home, eat bonbons and watch Ellen while I plan my strategy to hit next week's yardsales. Laugh. Dance. Yardsale.